Fast-healing Urlacher returns to practice

Brian Urlacher's return to the practice field Wednesday inside the Walter Payton Center surprised some people, considering he had been in a hospital bed just 12 days earlier.

But it didn't astonish linebacker Lance Briggs.

"You have to understand, Urlacher's one of the tough guys, and you can't expect a tough guy to be off the field for too long," Briggs said.

Wearing a soft cast similar to a shin guard around his left calf, Urlacher practiced for the first time since having surgery Nov. 15 to relieve pressure caused by internal bleeding in his leg. The freak injury occurred when Urlacher was kicked in a game against the Tennessee Titans, and it didn't flare up until the middle of the night.

Listed as questionable on the injury report, Urlacher worked with the No. 1 defense and ran more fluidly than one would expect for someone who had undergone surgery two weeks ago.

"He ran well and looked healthy," Briggs said. "It was a lot of fun and good to see him out there."

Urlacher declined comment on his comeback until Thursday, the day he reserves to speak to the media. But nobody needs a news conference to realize the quicker Urlacher mends, the quicker the Bears' defense will heal.

They have lost all four games without Urlacher this season and struggled stopping the run in his absence--giving up an average of 215 rushing yards the past two games, 98 more per week than they were surrendering before the Titans game.

"I think [teams] definitely look at us a little differently with him out there, he's an imposing force," coach Lovie Smith said. "They attack us different with him out there. A lot changes when we get our big guy in the middle."

If Urlacher can play, Hunter Hillenmeyer would move from middle linebacker back to the strong-side spot that Joe Odom has occupied since Urlacher's injury. Urlacher's ability to recover quickly from a pulled hamstring earlier this season and now from calf surgery has been called "freakish," by one team official.

The original prognosis called for Urlacher to miss four to six weeks. If he gets on the field Sunday against the Vikings it will be three weeks after the initial injury, a condition caused when the nerves and blood vessels become compressed too tightly within an enclosed space.

"I'm not necessarily surprised," Smith said. "You can go into the hospital and get things taken care of and come back out. To me, he's right on schedule."

Smith sounded open to resting Urlacher at practice Thursday, following a routine established earlier this season to rest the franchise player. If so, that would indicate Smith's expectation that Urlacher will play against the Vikings.

"That's hard to say right now," Smith said. "Hopefully, everything goes well and we'll have him out there a majority of the time."

Urlacher missed the first meeting with the Vikings with the hamstring problem. In seven games, Urlacher has made 80 tackles and four sacks, broken up three passes and forced two fumbles. He has five tackles for lost yardage.

While injuries have put Urlacher's stated goal of becoming the NFL Defensive Player of the Year out of reach, a strong showing in the final five games would make him hard to keep off the NFC Pro Bowl roster.

"We put a lot on our [middle] linebacker," Smith said. "His leadership, making plays. I think we'll be a lot better with him being out there."